


Just One Question

by rqc2000



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, hella angst, if youre a muriel stan prepare for pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:41:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25992298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rqc2000/pseuds/rqc2000
Summary: Muriel has a beautiful surprise for MC but instead finds a horrible surprise in his own bed
Relationships: Lucio (The Arcana)/Reader, Muriel (The Arcana)/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	Just One Question

In the early hours of the day, as the sun rises in the distance between the mountains and the rough terrain, Muriel sets off for his Friday hike. It was a long-lasting tradition between himself and Inanna, something that MC believed to not need a place in. Inanna waits patiently by the door as Muriel fastens his pack with supplies. The pair will usually trek up the south mountain, hunt and have their lunch in a hidden cave upon the cliff side by a small fire, and be back home before supper.  
MC loves that cave, the view of the forest below with the distant city of Vesuvia is breathtaking. Of course, Muriel understood that MC wanted to keep the Friday hike between the two old friends, not wanting to intrude on their traditions.  
Muriel leans down to MC and places a soft but warm kiss upon their lips, which consequently sends a harsh blush upon his cheeks as he pulls away.  
“I love you, MC.”  
They blush in response, “I love you too. I’ll see you in the evening?”  
“As always.”  
Muriel exits the hut and closes the door behind him. MC releases a deep breath, slumping their shoulders and rubbing their temples. Muriel and Inanna leave the site, a subtle smile on his lips and a warmth in his heart.  
MC begins to frantically tidy the hut, trying to fit a day’s worth of chores into one hour, as they do every Friday. They tend to the chickens, gather firewood for the night, sweep the floors, dust the shelves and make the bed. All the while, their chest pounds with anticipation but their face carries shame. How could they? How could they let things continue on for so long? They were living a lie. A sick lie that sends their stomach into knots and head into a spin.

—  
Just as MC finished, Muriel was in the fields, collecting his beloved’s favourite flowers. Today’s a different day.  
Inanna whines, making Muriel chuckle, “No hike today. I have something else in mind.”  
Inanna’s head tilts. Muriel laughs at her expression.  
“Trust me.”

—  
A horse trots up to the door of Muriel and MC’s home. Under the shade of a tree, the rider slides off and ties the steed to a tree trunk.  
A knock sounds at the door which makes MC jump. They fix their hair and approach the door, opening it hastily.  
“Lucio, you’re early.”  
The count smirks, “Oh, am I? Perhaps you would like me to come back at a better time?”  
MC pauses for a moment of hesitation before giving in to their urge, “I don’t think so.” They press against Lucio and begin to kiss him, taking away that damn smirk. The taste of his lips sent chills down MC’s spine as they begin to work on the buttons of his coat while guiding him to the bed. A light shove sends Lucio collapsing onto the sheets.  
MC goes to unlace their belt when Lucio stops them, “Now, are you going to bother with the same speech?”  
Both freeze as Lucio teases. Sweat forms on MC’s brow, “What speech?”  
“What you always say before we do our thing. You know? The whole ‘Now Lucio, this is the last time, and I mean it now. I can’t do this anymore’.”  
MC doesn’t respond, only looking down on the floor in shame.  
“Surely, you realise yourself that you don’t actually care for that killer. I don’t know why you stay with him when it’s so clear you want me. You need me. You know I can give you things he can’t.”  
As he speaks, he stands again and with his golden hand, lifts MC’s chin.  
“Now come and show me how much more I mean to you than him. Make it clear that I’m not wasting my time.”  
They look up at him with pain in their eyes. Muriel doesn’t deserve this. He has been so loyal and loving. He still is after the two years they have been together. But MC needed more. They know Muriel cares, but it just isn’t enough.  
They push Lucio down once more and mutter, “Take off your clothes.”

—  
Muriel, with flowers in hand takes a sigh to ease the tension in his chest as he returns back to the hut. It has taken a lot for Muriel to prepare for this day, but he knows he’s ready. He’s done waiting. It’s time to tell MC the truth. His hand reaches for the pouch on his belt and feels for the small trinket inside.  
He carved the wooden ring when MC slept, engraving both their initials together on the inside along with the patterns of his tribe. He’s finally ready to tell MC just how much he loves them. How he finally knows what he’s been looking for and that he’s ready to spend the rest of his life together with them.  
Inanna follows eagerly and he sees the door of his hut once more. He notices a palace horse tied to a nearby tree and puzzles for a moment. Perhaps Nadia decided to visit. At first this stops him, making him reconsider for just a moment.  
No. If not now, then when? He knows he loves MC and they love him. If Nadia is there, well as MC would say, ‘the more the merrier’. He gathers up the courage and marches forth again, a ready smile on his face.  
He just has to go in there and ask one question. Just one.  
He reaches for the door handle and pushes it open, ready as he’ll ever be. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to what he sees. The bundle of flowers fall from his hands and scatter on the floor.  
MC and Lucio freeze, both breathing heavy and with flustered faces. Muriel’s face turns harsh with anger, not saying a word.  
MC pulls away from Lucio and runs over to Muriel, “I can explain. I swear I can explain everything. I messed up, I know, I should have communicated better. I just got caught up in emotions and I-“  
He just has to go in there and ask one question. Just one.  
“How long?” Muriel mutters.  
“Muriel, I-“  
“How long?!” He finally looks into MC’s eyes.  
They sigh and glance at Lucio, who shows no shame.  
“About eight months. Every Friday that you were gone.”  
Muriel breathes in deeply, his face scrunching up in anger. Everything is silent for a moment before his harsh green eyes set on Lucio  
“Get out!”  
“Mind you, I’m still a count-“  
Muriel storms past MC and walks up to the bed, ripping the sheets away with an audible tear, “Get out!”  
Lucio hastily stands and pulls on his clothes and departs. The entire time, Muriel stares down at the bed, his own bed. A place of comfort where he has slept beside his love for two years, has held them in times of pain or sadness and where he has been closer with them in ways he has never with another.  
MC has the decency to yank on some clothes while they wait for Muriel to say something. Anything.  
Muriel turns slowly, staring MC down with a look of rage they had never seen before.  
“I’m so sorry, Muriel.”  
His mouth trembles as he holds back tears, “Eight months.” MC moves closer to try and reason but he continues. “For eight months you lied. You let HIM into our home, into our bed. After I tell you everything he did to me for years: the pain I went through because of him.”  
“Muriel, I don’t know what to say...” their voice falters when they look down to see what he holds in his hand, “is that what I think it is?”  
He doesn’t answer and MC repeats the question. He shoves past them and goes to the low-burning fire, tossing the ring into the flames. He watches the wood light and slowly crumble into ash.  
MC sounds behind him, “Muriel, I still love you. I always have. I just made a mistake.”  
“No,” he turns and slowly walks toward them, “you’re lying. You never loved me. You never cared for me. You’re just like Lucio, just wanting to cause others pain. You only care about yourself.”  
“What do you want me to do?” They go to touch his arm to comfort but he jerks away.  
There is a moment of silence as he stares down at his love one last time.  
“Leave.”  
MC sighs, grabs only their travelling supplies and departs without a word. Muriel refuses to move until they’re out of his sight.  
Asra was wrong. MC was wrong. He isn’t allowed to want things. He doesn’t deserve good things. He can never love again. He will not make that mistake again.

— 4 days later —  
“Muriel? MC?” Asra calls out as he lets himself into the hut. “I haven’t heard from you two in a few days...”  
He falters as he sees no one is home. He was surprised when Friday night rolled around and no one had shown up to his shop and then Asra assumed one of two things, Muriel panicked and backed out from asking or the two have been too busy celebrating to stop by yet.  
He wanders in the hut, calling out his friends’ names again.  
He sits upon the unmade bed and stares at the fire. It’s burning low, not long before it will go out, so hopefully that means one of them had been home recently. He leaves the hut and comes across Inanna.  
Kneeling down she licks his face, making him laugh.  
“Oh, you missed me?” He chuckles once more before looking into her eyes, “where’s Muriel and MC?”  
At the mere mention of MC’s name, Inanna begins to whimper and pulls on Asra’s shirt to follow. She leads him to behind the hut and finds Muriel sitting upon a log, examining something in his hand.  
Asra gets closer, “you still haven’t asked them yet?”  
Muriel doesn’t say anything, doesn’t acknowledge his friend at all. It is when Asra can see that in Muriel’s hand, it was not the ring but rather a carving of a fennec fox, that his expression changes. Asra remembers that Muriel gifted that to MC on their first anniversary, since it’s their favourite animal.  
He looks back at Muriel to notice his red rimmed eyes, he had been crying and clearly hasn’t been sleeping.  
“Muriel? What’s wrong?”  
He remains silent as Asra takes a seat beside him. He wanted to speak but didn’t know how to form the words. It hurt to even try and say their name.  
“I... They...” he huffs in frustration and pain.  
“Take your time,” Asra assures.  
For about ten minutes, Muriel struggles to find the words. During this, Asra runs through hundreds of scenarios that could have brought Muriel to this, every passing moment worrying him even more. Muriel stands and walks over the chopping block, beginning to cut logs for the fire. He pauses, holding the axe in his hands and looking off into the distance. Asra waits, seeing the look in his friend’s eyes. He might be ready to talk.  
“I was wrong about them.”  
“Who? MC?” Asra sits up.  
Muriel grimaces at the mention of their name and then nods.  
“What do you mean?”  
He huffs and brings down the axe on a block of wood, cutting it clean in the centre.  
“They don’t love me. They never have.”  
Asra sighs and walks over to Muriel as he sets another piece of wood, “what are you talking about? Of course they do. It’s just your nerves about proposing.”  
Muriel shakes his head. “No it’s not. They don’t care about me.”  
They finally meet eyes and Asra sees nothing but pain.  
“MC was... they...” he exhales heavily before blurting our, “they were with Lucio when I got home!”  
Asra takes a step forward, wondering if he misheard.  
“What do you mean ‘with Lucio’?”  
Muriel chops another piece of wood. “I came home, about to propose when I saw them with Lucio, together.”  
Muriel sets the axe down and begins to gather the wood.  
Asra couldn’t believe what he’s hearing. How could MC do something like this?  
Muriel begins to walk back inside with the wood pile, Asra jogging behind.  
“They were sleeping together, for how long?!?”  
It isn’t until after Muriel sets down the wood, feeds the fire and takes a seat on the floor, that he speaks. Inanna curls up next to him, resting her head in his lap. Asra sits across from him.  
“Apparently, eight months.”  
“Oh Muriel, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you come into town and see me?”  
“After I sent them away, I couldn’t risk going into town and seeing them. And I thought maybe they would have gone to you to stay at the shop. I don’t know where they are now.”  
A fire is set off within Asra. Seeing the pain in his friend knowing that MC went to Lucio, of all people it had to be Lucio.  
“No, I haven’t seen them. And believe me, when I do I’ll have a little chat with them.” He pauses, “What do you want me to say to the others?”  
“Others?”  
“Nadia, Portia and Ilya? They’re still all waiting to hear about the proposal. Portia was planning a small party at her cottage to celebrate.”  
Muriel’s jaw clenched and he closes his eyes tightly. He remembers how excited Portia was when he showed her the ring.  
“Tell them I don’t want to see anyone. I just want to be alone.”  
Asra nods, “Ok, do you want me to leave now or stay a while?”  
Muriel thinks for a moment then mumbles, “can you stay for just a little while?”  
“Of course.”  
Muriel tries to match Asra’s smile, but just can’t. Inanna sleeps soundlessly on his leg.

—  
MC lays in their bed in a small inn in the South End, tears in their eyes. Fists are clenched by the sides and their chest pounds so violently it seems to slowly be wearing away their insides.  
They came straight here when Muriel sent them away. There’s no where else to go. There’s no way anyone could house them after what they did.  
What the hell is wrong with you?  
With tears in their eyes, MC sits up and brings their knees to their chest, with shaking hands wrapped around.  
He was going to propose. He had a ring. They could have had a future together but MC just had to throw it away. What Muriel was just seemed to not be enough for them.  
They really wanted to see Asra, or Portia or Nadia, even Julian but then they’d have to tell the others what MC did and no one could ever forgive them. They’re not even sure if they can forgive themselves.  
Lucio was never worth giving up Muriel.  
MC huffs and slides off the bed. Tugging on some boots, they grab their key and a pouch of coins before throwing open the door. Sitting and doing nothing wasn’t going to make things better and surely by now Asra has heard what happened.

—  
MC reaches the door of a Asra’s shop that night and sees it is closed. They knock and only receive silence in return. The door is still unlocked so maybe Asra is still in.  
They push open the door silently and see the candles are still lit. Moving silently, they make their way through the shop to the back room where the curtain entrance is open.  
MC sees Asra, Nadia, Julian and Portia crowded around the tarot reading table all with teas in hand.  
Asra’s speaking stops when he sees MC. His face of concern shifts. His brows furrow and his jaw clenches. The others turn around one by one in confusion. Portia immediately slams her cup down and stands.  
She moves to MC with a fist raised, “You got a lot of fucking ner-“  
Julian, without hesitation rises and leaps at Portia to pin her to the ground, knowing well what his sister is capable of.  
“Pasha, you need to calm down.”  
Portia yells from the floor, “Get off of me, Ilya, before I punch you too.”  
While Julian struggles to keep her down, MC hands begin to shake. Julian sits on Portia’s back, crossing his arms and Portia carries on about murdering MC.  
MC mumbles, “this was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come here.”  
They turn to leave when they run into Nadia who had silently closed the curtains and slipped in front of them to stop them from leaving. With arms crossed she stares down at MC, pursing her lips.  
She sternly snaps, “Sit. Down.”  
Her tone silences the room, Portia freezing but Julian still needing to hold her down.  
MC looks over at Asra, who has made no sound since they’ve arrived. He takes a sip of his tea and continues to stare down MC as they take a seat where Portia was.  
Nadia loudly clears her throat, remaining at the curtain with her arms crossed.  
MC sighs and angles their chair so that all four of them can see their face. They fiddle with the end of their belt nervously as they feel the needles of everyone’s gaze piercing their face. They glance around the room, Asra and Nadia have stern disapproving stares, Portia has murder in her eyes and Julian is scoffing loudly.  
MC attempts to break the silence, “Listen if you want to know why I did it...”  
Julian abruptly cuts them off, “No.” MC stops and meets his eyes, “No, we don’t want to hear your excuses right now. We just want to make sure you know what you’ve done.”  
They go to speak and close their mouth, nodding silently and staring down at their lap.  
Portia speaks up from the floor, “You should be ashamed of yourself. How messed up do you need to be to hurt Muriel? Muriel of all people!”  
Nadia speaks up, “You’re right, Portia, I never thought MC could ever do something like this. Clearly, I was wrong about them.”  
MC winces but takes the comments.  
“MC, clearly, doesn’t care about the consequences of their actions or the pain they cause on others.”  
There are a few moments of silence before MC croaks, “I know I can’t take back what I did and I know it’ll take a lot to earn all of your trust again. I was emotional and I wasn’t thinking.” They’re voice raises as they continue, growing louder as the tears form. “I don’t know if I can even forgive myself, believe me! I’ve been sitting alone from the pain of my guilt-“  
Asra finally snaps, “You want to talk about pain? How about me showing up at the hut to see Muriel hasn’t eaten in four days? To see the life drained from his eyes? He hasn’t slept because looking at that bed brings him to tears. Every. Time.”  
He stands up from his seat and continues to yell. “The fact that you knew everything he has gone through, how Lucio broke him down to almost nothing, and you had the audacity to sleep with him in Muriel’s bed for EIGHT MONTHS. “  
MC goes to speak but he looks away from everyone raising a pointed finger at them. Asra questions sternly, “Just please tell me this. Please, tell me you didn’t lie to him about how often it happened.”  
MC couldn’t even answer they just look back down as he waits to hear a response.  
Portia speaks up, “Wait... every time you were at the palace and said you were just visiting for no reason...”  
MC just nods, sniffling as they’re on the brink of tears.  
Asra slams his fist against the wall, bringing about a loud bang that even makes Nadia jump.  
“No, you don’t get to fucking cry right now! You don’t get to feel sorry for yourself after breaking someone like you did!”  
Asra leans against the window behind him and releases a sigh, a vain attempt to ease the tension in his shoulders. He mumbles, “You all should head home, I need to speak to MC alone.”  
Julian stands, followed by Portia who has let go of her quest in beating up MC. Nadia opens the curtains and lets the Devoraks out before closing the shop’s front door behind herself, knowing well what’s about to happen.  
Asra seals the door from where he stands with a cross-me-not spell that not even MC can break, they were trapped in their together.

—  
MC now sits in the back seat, where Asra sat, with their back to the window and cornered by Asra who now stands at the curtain entrance to the back room.  
Sweat builds at MC’s brow and the knot in their stomach twists achingly. A single candle sits in the middle of the table, the only light source in the shop now.  
“Don’t even try to get up,” Asra breaks the silence, arms crossed and staring at MC. “Because neither of us are leaving until I say so.”  
MC nods silently but their leg shakes restlessly under table. They fiddle with the hem of their shirt, pulling at the loose threads.  
“Do you realise how much he has grown since he met you? I’ve known him almost all of my life and I can say I have never seen him laugh, or even smile, as much as he does with you. He became this whole new person who was actually happy to see every new day.” Asra pauses, trying to keep a level head though he wanted to punch his old apprentice. “I brought you back because I wanted you to live the life you deserved and when you and Muriel connected, I thought I made the best decision in my life but clearly I was wrong. Now, I’m not going to lie, I have a million questions going around in my head.”  
He pauses, waiting to see what MC will say.  
They sit up and rest their arms on the table. Their voice croaks, “Ask away.”  
Let the interrogation begin.  
“When did this start?” Asra begins pacing.  
They respond quickly, the guilt unleashing the words like a floodgate, “At the last masquerade. I lost Muriel and you in the crowd and ran into Lucio. We started drinking and he kept telling me that I deserved more and I deserved to be spoilt. He started kissing me and made me feel so good. So I...” MC winces, hating to admit this aloud. “So I slept with him that night, he took me to his wing and when I came back to the party hours later, I was able to convince you two that I was exploring all the party rooms.”  
Asra chuckles, continuing to pace back and forth in front of the table, “I remember that. Muriel and I were terrified that you were gone so long. He was so scared you were lost, or hurt that he almost broke down into tears before we found you again. I’ll admit, I even remembered finding it strange how disheveled you looked. Then we all crashed here for the night and I saw how affectionate you were towards him, more than usual.”  
MC’s chest pounded. Even though that was only the first time, when they saw Muriel’s relief in finding them, they knew they made a mistake.  
“I already felt so guilty,” they admit. “I hoped that it could go unnoticed and I could pretend it never happened.”  
“Yet, you let it keep going for eight months.” Asra pauses and thinks for a moment, “Wait, no the masquerade was 10 months ago.”  
He looks up and meets MC’s gaze, shakes his head and mutters, “Unbelievable.”  
He finally takes a seat across from them. “What made you run back to him? And how the hell did you hide it for so long?”  
MC stops and recalls what followed a few days later.

—  
Five days after the masquerade, MC visits Portia’s cottage for breakfast before she has to go to work.  
MC scratches behind Pepi’s ear who is curled up on their lap purring loudly. Portia is finishing off her plate of pancakes when she comments, “you and Muriel looked adorable at the masquerade.”  
MC stops petting Pepi and puts her down on the floor.  
“Thank you, you looked amazing as well.”  
“Oh hush, not nearly as nice as you two. I loved the coordinating colours and I can’t believe you actually got him dancing on the floor. Not that the dance you did on the balcony the year before wasn’t adorable, despite having to face that goatman right after. You two just looked amazing!”  
MC smirks as they begin to clear the table.  
“Yeah, we had a great time. You finished?” They gesture to Portia’s empty plate.  
“Oh thank you MC, but you don’t need to clean after me.”  
“It’s fine, really. You made breakfast. I’ll clean up while you finish getting ready for work so that I can walk you in.”  
“Oh, alright,” Portia smiles while she hands over her plate and begins to tidy a few things around the house.  
MC stands over the sink, washing dishes while trying to hold back tears. The events of the masquerade had been playing on loop in their head for days now. That night felt so good but their guilt felt so bad.  
Portia and MC walk to Nadia’s wing where Portia has to tend to first today. When the Countess sees them, she’s thrilled.  
“MC, what a delight it is to see you this morning. Did you enjoy the masquerade?”  
“Yes, it was spectacular. I was just walking Portia to work but I better get going. I need to collect some things from the marketplace before heading home.”  
“I understand. Did you want me to organise a carriage?”  
MC smiles warmly, “Oh, no thank you. I enjoy the walk. Thanks again for the breakfast.”  
Portia embraces MC tightly, “Should definitely do that again soon.”  
MC nods and bids goodbye. They walk down the corridors when they hear some shouting nearby. They round the corner to see Lucio towering over a small servant, “I asked for my breakfast to be at my room by 7, and it showed up at 7:05. Now, I know my clock isn’t wrong but that’s unacceptable. No why don’t you take this plate and shove it-“ he stops when he sees MC and completely forgets the servant, showing the plate into their hand and walking over. “Well, well, well, it’s nice to see you MC .”  
He wraps an arm around their shoulders.  
“Good morning, Lucio.”  
“Did ya miss me?”  
He starts strolling, leading MC with him through the maze that is the castle.  
“Not particularly.” MC hopes they wouldn’t run into him but his presence still gave them this chill down their spine they haven’t felt in a long time.  
“Oh come on, after our little fun at the masquerade, how couldn’t you come back to me?” He then whispers close to their ear, sending goosebumps up MC’s legs. “Perhaps, you’d like to come by my wing again. I can clear my schedule.”  
MC considers it for moment before snapping out of their daze, “Lucio, I shouldn’t even be speaking to you.”  
“Oh come on, Persey-“  
“Don’t call me that,” they snap, only Muriel and Asra are allowed to call them that. Julian tried to once and received a glare from Muriel.  
“Ooh, feisty are we?” MC rolls their eyes and Lucio continues, “But anyway, I’m just saying you and me... you’d be crazy to never let it happen again.”  
He stops and turns to face them, gently lifting their chin. MC’s cheeks flush, the heat rushing to their cheeks and ears. He smirks and leans in, brushing his lips against theirs.  
MC waits to be kissed but Lucio stops and mutters, “Think about it.”  
He pulls away and lets MC go leaving them without another word.  
They watch him leave, the light feeling of his lips still trying to cling on. A loud breath released, one of which they didn’t realise they were holding. As he turns a corner, MC goes to follow him but stops.  
Don’t go.

—  
“Then, I met with him again. And again and again.” MC fails to meet Asra’s eyes who continues to glare down at them.  
Asra slams a fist down on the table before running a hand through his hair.  
“Why?! Why would you do this? Wasn’t Muriel, the man who would give anything to make you happy, enough for you?”  
“I know he loved me and I still love him!” Tears begin to gather in MC’s eyes, “I never loved Lucio. There was never any love in it. I just got caught up in my emotions and Lucio was there when Muriel couldn’t be.”  
He looks up to MC, “So what, you ran to Lucio just because you needed to get dicked down by the goatman. Was he even worth hurting Muriel?”  
MC stops everything. No, nothing was worth losing Muriel.  
“I regret it. I regret everything. Believe me, if I had a chance to change everything I would. I just need to see Muriel and-“  
“No, you can’t go anywhere near him. If you do, you better expect the rest of us to hunt you down.”  
MC is shocked by Asra’s threat.  
“Will the rest of you ever forgive me?”  
“I can’t say for the others but I probably won’t. Just like I know Muriel won’t. It’ll take a lot to convince me that I could ever trust you again.”  
MC nods, “can I leave now?”  
Asra rolls his eyes, “fine!”  
He breaks the spell, allowing MC to leave.  
MC stands, and walks past the table towards the door. They stop midway and say over their shoulder. “If any of you are willing to hear me out, meet me at the Rowdy Raven tomorrow night.”  
MC exits, leaving Asra alone. Faust slivers up his shirt and says, “Friend gone?”  
Asra sighs and looks down at her cute face, “Yeah, friend’s gone.”

—  
As MC expected, no one met them the following night. They sit in the booth alone, downing yet another drink with frustration. Grabbing their coat, they leave in a hurry, making their way to the castle.  
__  
MC hurriedly knocks on the door, a harsh voice snaps, “Who is it?!”  
They throw the door open then slam it shut behind them looking down at Lucio who is sitting at his vanity. He turns to see who so rudely barged into his room and laughs.  
“Well, what do you know? As always, you come running back to me. What happened with the Scourge anyway? I’ve missed your company.”  
He stands and struts over to MC.  
Instead of responding, MC leaps onto him, reaching up to kiss him firmly.  
He pulls away, “Awe, not gonna answer.”  
“Shut the hell up.”  
MC begins to kiss him again with a sense of urgency, pulling him towards the bed.

—  
They both wake up to hard knocking at the door. MC sits up in shock, they don’t even remember making their way to Lucio’s room.  
Portia calls out from the hallway, “Excuse me, your excellency. M’lady wanted me to alert you that you’re late for your meeting. She requested I retrieve you.”  
Lucio groans and rolls over to go back to sleep. Portia opens the door slowly and pokes her head in but is surprised to see MC there.  
Portia gasps and steps into the room, “MC?”  
“Portia, I can explain,” they plead.  
There’s tears welling in her eyes, “Don’t. There’s no need. I already knew we couldn’t forgive you. Now excuse me, but I must alert the countess why Lucio will be late.”  
She storms out, slamming the door behind her.  
Lucio rolls back over to face MC.  
“Good morning, gorgeous.”  
MC rolls their eyes, “Why do I waste my time with you?”

—  
The following day, Asra strolls up to the hut, knocking on the door gently before entering. Muriel is sitting by the fire with Inanna.  
“Good afternoon,” Asra says, strolling in. “How did you sleep?”  
“On the floor.”  
“Well, I brought something that might help with that.”  
Muriel turns to see Asra carrying a large bundle of furs and blankets in his arms.  
He plops them down on the table, “it’ll be like you have a whole new bed.”  
“Still doesn’t change things.”  
“Well, if that’s not enough.” Asra opens his bag to produce a small bottle, “a few drops of this will help you sleep through the whole night.”  
He sets the bottle down on the table and begins to work on changing the linen on Muriel’s bed while talking.  
“So while I was in town this morning, I ran into Portia and we spoke about this festival that’s happening this weekend and she was planning on going since she had a day off. Would you be interested in coming along with us?”  
“No. Too many people.”  
Asra notes that Muriel hasn’t spoken this distant to anyone in a long time and he holds back his look of hurt.  
“That’s ok. Maybe next time. But if you ever want to walk around town, even quiet areas of the outskirts, just let me know, ok?”  
After he finishes with the bed he asks, “What do you want to do with these?”  
“Burn them.”  
“Gladly, I’ll do that when I get home.”  
He takes a seat near Muriel, Inanna rolls over for Asra’s attention and he starts to scratch her neck. They sit in a comfortable silence for a while.  
Muriel mumbles, “How is Per... how are they doing?”  
Asra winces, unsure how to respond. Ever since Nadia told him what Portia saw, he knew Muriel had the right to know.  
“They’re trying to talk to us.” Asra begins, “They said they can change who are.”  
Muriel scoffs in response, still staring into the fire.  
Asra continues, “they’re staying in this inn in the south end.”  
“Are they still working?”  
“I don’t think so. I haven’t been by the bookstore or seen their boss so I’m not sure.”  
The conversation goes silent once more. Asra watches his friend’s face stricken with pain and turmoil. He wants to say something.  
Muriel opens his mouth and closes it again, failing to form the words. This continues on for a while, Asra waits patiently.  
“Are... Is it...Have...” Muriel mumbles, getting visibly worked up by what he wants to say. Tears start forming in his eyes and he breaks down into a sob. Inanna rolls back over to Muriel to comfort him, licking his arm and wedging herself into his lap. He wraps his arms around her and continues to sob.  
He still tries to speak but just can’t. Asra places a hand on his shoulder, making Muriel look up and meet eyes. Asra’s chest aches while he watches his friend break down.  
Muriel tries one more time, “Are they still-“  
He stops.  
Asra exhales, “Muriel, stop. It’s ok. I know what you’re trying to say. Don’t put yourself through that anymore.”  
Muriel waits for an answer.  
Asra gives a nod, “Yes, they’re still seeing each other.”  
Muriel’s face scrunches up as he lets go of Inanna and rubs his eyes. Inanna looks up at him and then Asra.  
“I want to be alone.”  
“Do you want to be alone alone or alone?”  
Muriel deeply exhales, “Take Inanna with you back to the store.”  
Asra nods and asks Inanna to follow as he gathers his things and the old blankets, and leaves. For Muriel to not even want Inanna around is a bad sign.

—  
Portia and Asra arrive back at the store after the festival, Inanna moping behind. Portia leans down, petting her.  
“I know, girl. We all miss him too.”  
Asra goes to unlock the door but notices the door is already unlocked, someone was inside.  
Portia goes to step in and Asra blocks her with his arm before lifting a finger to his lips to silence her.  
He slowly opens the door, and it swings open with a loud creak. The three wander in and look around, no one else is in the shop. Then there is a clatter upstairs. Asra and Portia meet eyes before rushing up the stairs.  
There in the kitchen is MC over the stove, making a bowl of rice pudding.  
Portia snaps, “What are you doing here?!”  
MC turns off the heat and then raises their hands in defence.  
“Just hear me out,” they say calmly. “I’ve come to talk about something and I have an idea... well more of a request.”  
“Portia, you can leave if you want. I’ll stay and talk.” Asra states.  
Portia glares at MC, “Gladly.”  
She storms down the stairs and slams the door on the way out. Inanna walks out from behind Asra.  
MC leans down and gasps, “Hi, baby. How’s my girl?”  
They offer a hand which Inanna growls at as they get closer. MC steps back in shock and she continues to growl before taking a seat next to Asra.  
“Well!” Asra says, crossing his arms. “What’s this request then?”  
“Yes, but before that...” MC pours a bowl of the pudding and offers it to Asra.  
He just glances at the bowl then back at MC, his eyes burning into their soul. They slowly place the bowl on the bench.  
“Listen, I know I made a few-“  
“A few oopsies?” Asra interrupts.  
MC sighs, “I made mistakes. A lot of them. But I know that if I just see him, just talk to him, I can make things better.”  
“No.”  
“Asra, please! I need to see him. I need to know if he’s ok. I still love him.”  
“If you did you wouldn’t have hurt him.”  
“Well then, can I at least try to make amends with you, or Portia, anyone?” Their voice breaks as they plead. If only they could take it back. If only everything can go back to how it was.  
Asra shakes his head, “No, I don’t think so.”  
MC drops to their knees, beginning to sob, “I regret what I did! Every second of it, I regret. Muriel was the most perfect thing in my life and I screwed that up. I know there’s no way he can come back into my life. So fine! I won’t beg for forgiveness.” They look up at him, “Can I just ask for one thing?”  
“What?” Asra shrugs. What could they possibly want that Asra could give.  
“Erase my memories.”  
Asra isn’t sure if he heard correctly, “What did you just say?”  
“Erase my memories of Muriel, everyone. I can’t live with this guilt. I can’t go on with my day to day knowing I lost everyone important in my life.”  
Asra looks away, thinking about their words. Inanna nudges his leg and he looks down to her sad eyes. MC is begging for mercy, for freedom, from what they’ve done.  
“I won’t do it,” he finally says after minutes of silence. “No. I cannot let you move on while Muriel is still in pain.”  
“Please, I have nothing.”  
“Go back to your goat!”  
“He’s done with me. He said there’s too much drama attached to me and that he’s bored with me. I really have no one now.”  
Asra chuckles and then outright laughs, “It serves you right. Now I’m definitely not going to let you get away from this. In fact, I’m going to erase Muriel’s memories but not everything, only of you. He’s going to be happy again, forgetting how much pain you caused him. He’s going to find someone who actually treats him well and he’ll spend the rest of his life with them and not remember a single thing about you.”  
“What?”  
“You heard me, Muriel will forget everything about you and go about his life. You don’t get to just move along. You have to live with your mistakes and go about seeing what you miss out on. Now get out of my home before I kick you out.”

— 4 years later  
Gathered around in the Rowdy Raven, Muriel and his beloved sit in the centre of the group. Asra lifts his glass, prompting Nadia and the Devoraks to do so too.  
“To the happy couple, congratulations to your engagement. May your love prosper for years to come and may the memories you make be bliss.”  
There is a loud cheers as everyone raises the glasses higher before drinking.  
“Also, side note,” Asra slams down his empty glass, “I’m the flower girl.”  
Everyone erupts into laughter.  
Portia chimes in, “I thought I was going to be the flower girl.”  
Muriel’s partner stands, laughing, “No, you guys have it all wrong. Inanna is the flower girl, Portia is part of the wedding party and Asra officiates.”  
Inanna, sitting in Muriel’s lap, rests her front paws on the table with pride. Everyone awes in response. The conversation continues but Asra doesn’t pay attention.  
His eyes travel across the room to a booth on the other side. Alone sits a familiar face, with an empty glass in their hand. Their eyes meet his, for which they nod to acknowledge.  
He doesn’t nod, doesn’t acknowledge at all but rather turns his body and attention back to the happy couple. The familiar face stands and leaves the tavern.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> So this was actually written by my Muriel stan cousin on a dare. They felt so guilty and wanted to delete the fic but I took their phone and sent it to myself. It's been a month since they wrote it and they gave me permission to post as long as I gave them anonymous credit.  
> I hope you enjoyed!


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